Though 2026 is only a week old, Tysons Corner Center has already welcomed one new business, while bidding temporary adieu to an old one.
Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe made its D.C.-area debut with a soft opening last Saturday (Jan. 3), more than a year after signs announcing that it would be “opening soon” first appeared.
Located on the mall’s first floor near Macy’s, the kiosk specializes in fruit smoothies and juices, but it also offers milkshakes, soft drinks, and both hot and cold coffee. Patrons looking for more solid sustenance can find sweet and savory items, including fruit bowls, crepes, waffles, sandwiches and ice cream.
Since this is the first Virginia location for Bora Bora, a Kuwait-based chain that has recently started expanding in the U.S., franchise manager Naser Kassim says it was important to find a prominent place with plenty of foot traffic.
“A lot of people come to this mall,” he told FFXnow. “This way, people will try new things. Once they try new things and they like it, they’re going to look for it around.”
Bora Bora hopes the Tysons location will serve as a launching pad for growth in the region, with additional spots already in the works in Stafford and the Falls Church area.
A food establishment permit approved in November by Fairfax County indicates that Bora Bora is taking over a long-vacant building at 5870 Leesburg Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads. The cafe will seat 45 people and operate daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to the application.
“It’s coming soon, probably two months, three months,” Kassim said of the Bailey’s Crossroads location, noting that all franchises offer the same menu.
British mattress maker, menswear shop now open
Recent weeks also brought the openings of British mattress maker Vispring, men’s fashion retailer Johnnie-O and a new location for the athletic eyewear retailer Oakley in Tysons Corner Center.
Like Bora Bora, Vispring appears to be quickly expanding across the U.S., opening showrooms in Dallas, New York City, San Diego and Denver over the past seven months. In business since mid-December, the Tysons store can be found on the mall’s first floor next to the downsized Gap and offers nine different mattresses for customers to “experience,” per its website.
Johnnie-O opened around Dec. 21, just before Christmas, on Tysons Corner Center’s second floor near the Apple store (1961 Chain Bridge Rd, Unit E1AU). Based in Los Angeles, the company started in 2005 with a focus on polos and golf shirts but now sells a range of clothes for men, women and children that mix “East Coast tradition and West Coast casual,” its website says.
American Girl closes for now
The new year also brought the closure of American Girl, which shuttered its longstanding two-story location on the western end of the mall last Sunday (Jan. 4).
Signs have appeared on the construction wall covering its new, smaller storefront adjacent to Seasons 52 on the first floor, advertising that the doll shop will open in “early 2026,” as Mattel, American Doll’s parent company, previously told FFXnow.
An exact opening date remains unknown, as does Tysons Corner Center’s plans for the vacated, 23,000-square-foot store. The Italian food and retail chain Eataly has reportedly been circling the space as part of a larger west end renovation, but both that company and mall owner Macerich have so far stayed mum on the subject.
